obedient, and thofe that have no fear of him before their eyes. The deep confideration and fenfe of thefe attributes of the divine perfections, muft needs excite both the fear of reverence and the fear of caution, or fear of offending either by commiffion of what may difplease God, or of omitting of what is pleafing to

him.

6. But although this knowledge of Almighty God and his attributes, may juftly excite a fear both of reverence and caution, yet without the knowledge of fomething else, that fear will be extravagant and diforderly, and fometimes begets fuperftition or ftrange exorbitancy in this fear, or in the expreffions of it, and a want of regularity of duty or obedience: If a man know that Almighty God is juft, and will reward obedience and punish disobedience, yet if he knows not what he will have done or omitted, he will indeed fear to displease him, but he will not know how to please or to obey him: therefore, befides the former, there must be a knowledge of the will or law of God in things to be done or omitted. This law of God hath a double infcription; 1. In nature; and that is again twofold; first, The natural rudiments or morality and piety written in the heart; fecondly, fuch as are deducible by the exercife of natural reafon and light; for even from the notion of God there do refult certain confequences of natural piety and religion, as, that he is to be prayed unto, to be praised, that he is to be imitated as far forth as is poffible by us; therefore, as he is holy, beneficent, good, and merci ful, fo muft we be. 2. But we have a more excellent tranfcript of the divine will, namely, the holy fcriptures; which, therefore, a man that fears God will study, obferve, and practice, as being the best rule how to obey him. And the very fear of God arifing upon the fenfe of his being and attributes will make that man very folicitous to know the will of God, and how he will be worshipped and ferved, and what he would have to be done, or not to be done.

And

And therefore, fince the glorious God hath fo far condefcended, as by his providence to fend us a tranfcript of his mind, will, and law, he will be very thankful for it, very studious of it, much delighted in it, very curious to obferve it, because it is the rule and direction how he may obey, and confequently please that great God whom he fears: this word he believes and prizes as his great charter; and in this word he finds much to excite and regulate, and direct his fear of God; he fees examples of the divine juftice against the offenders of his law, of the divine bounty in rewarding the obedience to it. Threatenings on one hand, promifes on the other. Greater manifeftations of the divine goodness in the redemption of mankind by Christ Jefus, and therefore greater obligations as well to fear as to love fuch a benefactor.

II. And thus far of the kinds of the fear of God, and of the causes or objects exciting it. Now, letus fee how it doth appear that this fearing man is the wife man, and how the fear of God difcovers itself to be the true, and best, and only wisdom; which will appear in these particular confiderations following.

1. Many learned men, confidering that great fimilitude and image of ratiocination, in fome brutes especially, have therefore declined to define a man by his reason, because of that analogical ratiocination which they find in brutes, but define a man by his religion, homo eft animal religiofum 1; becaufe in this they find no communication or fimilitude of natures and operations between man and brute beafts; for man is the only vifible creature that expreffeth any inclination to religion or the sense of a Deity, or any exercife of it. I do not stand to justify this opinion in all particulars, only these things are most certain; 1. That only the human nature feems to have any fenfe or impreffion of any regular religion upon it. 2. That the fenfe of a Deity and religion refulting

1 • Man is a religious animal.'

C 3

from

from it, is the great ennobling and advance1, and perfection of the human nature; 3. That take away the fear of God, all fenfe and ufe of religion fall to the ground. So that the fear of God is the great foundation of religion, and confequently the great ennobling and advance of human nature; that feems almost as great a prelation 2 of a man truly religious above an irreligious man, as to operation and use, as there is between an irreligious man and a brute. As religion advanceth, fo irreligion embafeth 3 the human

nature.

2. Juftice is of two kinds; Diftributive, which is the justice of a magiftrate or judge, diftributing rewards and punishments, favour and difpleafure, and . due retribution to every man according to the merits of his caufe. 2. Communicative, which is in all civil contracts and dealings between perfons, as dealing honeftly, keeping promifes, and ufing plainnefs, fincerity, and truth in all a man faith or doth. And both these kinds of juftice are effects of excellent wisdom; without thefe, ftates and focieties and perfons, fall into diforder, confufion, and diffolution: and therefore those very men that have not this juftice and righteoufnefs, yet honour and value thofe who have it, and use it. And the fear of Almighty God is that which begetteth and improveth both thefe kinds of juftice. Hence it was that Mofes, in his choice of judges, directs that they fhould be men fearing God, and hating covetoufnefs. Jehoshaphat, in his charge to his judges, thought this the best expedient to contain them within the bounds of justice, to put them in remembrance before whom, and for whom, they are to judge. And the very heathens themselves were fome of them ufed to fet an empty chair in the place of judicature, as an emblem of the prefence of God, the invisible, and yet all-feeing God, as prefent in the courts of justice, obferving all 1advancement. 2 preference.

3

debaseth.

the

the judges do; and this they esteemed an excellent means to keep judges to their duty, by representing to them the glorious God beholding them. And as thus in diftributive juftice, the fear of God is a great means to keep and improve it; fo in communicative justice, the fear of God gives a fecret and powerful law to a man to keep and obferve it. And hence it is, that Jofeph could give no greater affurance to his brethren of his juft dealing with them than this'This do, for I fear God 1.' And, on the other fide, Abraham could have no greater caufe of fufpicion of ill and unjust dealing from the people with whom he converfed, than this, that they wanted the fear of God. 'Because I thought the fear of God was not in this place 2,' &c. The fenfe of the greatness, and majefty, and power, and juftice, and all-feeing prefence and command of Almighty God, lays a greater obligation and engagement upon a heart fearing God, to deal juftly and honestly, than all the terrors of death itself can do.

And if any one can fay, How came it to pass that the heathen that knew not, and therefore feared not the true God, were yet great afferters, maintainers, and practifers of all civil justice and righteousness between man and man? I fay, though they knew not the true God, they knew there was a God, whom (though ignorantly) they feared. And this imperfect and broken fear of God was the true caufe of that justice and righteousness that was fincerely, and not for oftentation, practifed among them; and though they mistook the true God, yet in this they were not mistaken, that there was a God; and this truth had that great prevalence upon them, to do juftly. And if that imperfect fear of God in them did fo much prevail as to make them fo juft, how much more muft the true knowledge and the fear of the true God

1 Gen. xlii. 18..

C 4,

2 Gen. xx. 11.

prevail

prevail to advance righteousness and justice in them that have that fear of God in their hearts?

3. It is a great part of wisdom that concerns a perfon in the exercise of the duties of his relations; and indeed it is a great part of justice and righteousness. Now the fear of Almighty God hath thefe two great advantages therein. 1. The will of God inftructs exactly all relations in their duties of those reciprocal relations; and this will of God is revealed in his word, which contains excellent precepts of all kinds fuitable to every feveral relation. 2. The fear of God fets thefe directions close upon the heart, and is a fevere and constant obligation to observe them. And fo this fear of God doth effectually fit, habituate, guide, and oblige a man to the duties of his feveral relations. It makes a good magiftrate, a good fubject, a good husband, a good wife, a good father, a good child, a good mafter, a good fervant; in all those several kinds of goodness that are peculiar and proper to the feveral relations wherein a man stands.

4. Sincerity, uprightness, integrity, and honefty, are certainly true and real wifdom. Let any man obferve it where he will, an hypocrite, or diffembler, or double-hearted man, though he may fhuffle it out for a while, yet at the long run he is discovered and disappointed, and betrays very much folly at the latter end; when a plain, fincere, honest man holds it out to the very laft; fo that the proverb is most true, that honesty is the best policy. Now the great privilege of the fear of God is, that it makes the heart fincere and upright, and that will certainly. make the words and actions fo, for he is under the fenfe of the inspection and animadverfion of that God that fearches the heart; and therefore he dares not lye, nor diffemble, nor flatter, nor prevaricate; because he knows the pure, all-feeing righteous God, that loves truth and integrity, and hates lying and diffimulation, beholds, and fees, and obferves him,

and